


Oceans

by Chamaelirium



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Pirates AU, swashbuckling, yarrrrrr
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-30
Updated: 2018-04-30
Packaged: 2019-04-30 05:07:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14489460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chamaelirium/pseuds/Chamaelirium
Summary: A piratical AU set on an as yet unnamed water planet.





	Oceans

The storm raged. Bruised, blackened clouds roiled like the ocean beneath them. The rain fell in dense waves, driven by the winds of a tropical storm that was set to be the biggest in a decade. Day and night were indistinguishable from one another, blending into an endless maelstrom of churning sea and sky. At the helm, Captain Solo stood, both feet planted firmly on the deck beneath him, hands steady on the wheel, laughing in the face of it all. Whether he chose to acknowledge it or not, the blood of canny sailors flowed through his veins, and he rode the bucking ship as though he were a living extension of it. His long black hair was slicked back, and the wet-weather gear made from oiled synth silk clung to his long, lean frame as he rode out the fury of the storm.  


The sails and masts had long ago been retracted into the deck beneath, lest they be shredded by the hurricane force winds that currently encircled the Archipelago of Kahule Nouna and the oceans around it. Most other ships were safely tucked away in the harbours and hangars of nearby islands, but Ben Solo never could resist a challenge. He would be the first to deliver his shipment of farium, and would be able to command top price.  


One corner of his mouth curled into the half-smile that was known to set certain hearts racing amongst the ladies of the City, and he tightened his grip on the wheel, its spokes of inlaid veshok wood steady under his hand. The storm would pass soon, he could feel the low pressure system that had driven it into a fury, begin to lessen somewhat. By morning it would have blown itself out and developed into simply rain, and he would have a head start of several days over the other Captains. His weather sense had never failed him yet, and he knew several of his senior peers envied his ability. He could unerringly feel the movements of high and low pressure systems, the changing of winds before they had even begun to turn, and the building of tropical storms that this region was known for. The hum of the engines was steady and comforting under his feet, and he felt elation that he never felt anywhere else, in any other circumstance, than he did when challenging the elements. At 29, he had been the youngest amongst his rivals to receive the rank of captain five years earlier when he was only 24, and he wore it with pride.  


Below decks, the crew of the Bonny Breha rode out the storm as best they could. Some huddled together in small groups, gambling or exchanging wild stories of times past. Others slept, gently swaying in their canvas hammocks, as soundly as if the tempest were merely a mother’s touch, rocking them into sleep. One grizzled old sailor sat against the wall, carefully carving beautiful designs into a large piece of manté ivory, his hands as sure and steady as though he were on dry land and not on a heaving ship.  
________________________________________________________  


Finn curled miserably in his hammock, eyes squeezed shut, as he tried his hardest to ignore the pitch and yaw of the damned ship as it was flung about by the damned storm that was now raging for the damned third day in a row. His stomach rolled with the waves, and had he eaten anything of substance in the last day or so, he knew it would have been making a reappearance soon.  


Never again. As soon as we get back to the City I am getting as far inland as I can and never so much as looking at the ocean again. He groaned, trying to be quiet about it even in his misery, lest he attract the scorn of his fellow shipmates. Of all those on board at the moment, Finn had a reputation as the weakest of stomach, and the last to find his sea legs. He had signed on, thinking to escape the dullness and industry of the City’s lower area, only to find that there was a reason he had been cautioned against working for Captain Solo. While all the other captains sensibly stayed in during such storms, he was well known for his recklessness in taking his ship through any weather. True, he had never been in a wreck yet, but there was always a first time.  
___________________________________  


The storm raged. Waves taller than her hut beat onto the island, eating away great chunks of what was usually a tranquil, calm beach. At the highest point on the tiny islet, stood a great tree whose winding, convoluted roots dug in amongst the boulders and held it firm, as they had through many storm seasons before now, and would for many in the future. Tucked into a small opening at the base of the trunk, Rey checked the ropes that bound her to the tree, tried with numb hands to tug the mat of woven fronds around herself once more, and set her face grimly into the storm. She had persevered through many in her lifetime, was was not about to let this one defeat her. It would be letting up soon, moving away from the area as it lost strength. She could feel it, as sure as she could feel the current strength of the winds that threatened to tear her from the island and fling her into the ocean.  


The blackness of the sky began to curdle into a grey green against the eastern horizon, and Rey watched, hovering on the brink of exhaustion, as the wind dropped and the rain began to fall vertically instead of horizontally. The sun rose, and even tucked behind its blanket of thick clouds Rey could begin to feel the warmth thaw her half frozen body. The rain was warmer now also, and by mid morning, had settled into a soothing shower, allowing her to begin to fumble at the knots that had held her safely for so many hours. Her hut would be gone, as it had been destroyed many times before, on this island or one of the others she had made her temporary home, as she travelled between them in search of resources. She tended to stay away from the larger islets - a woman, even a scrawny one in disguise as a boy, was not always safe in the rougher ports amongst those who frequented them. She was usually able to hold her own pretty well against two or three rough sailors at a time, her staff making quick work as she took them out behind the knees or knocked them unconscious, however she doubted she could defend herself against an entire shipload of men.  


Clutching her small bundle of precious belongings to herself, Rey began to clamber down the rocky peak of the island, heading for the beaches, or what was left of them. The majority of vegetation was either flattened against the ground, or had been ripped from the earth entirely and flung into the ocean. Save for her sarkik tree which had survived many such storms, there were only a few minati bushes that remained. She passed one that still had a few deep purple berries clinging to the thorny branches. Picking them as she walked by, Rey enjoyed the deep, earthy flavour as they burst on her tongue, with a salty aftertaste from the ocean spray.  


She had reached the place where her shelter once stood, although there was now no trace of it, the sand washed smooth by the now gently lapping waves. Along the tide line, great swathes of ocean litter were heaped - driftwood, plant fronds, tangled seaweeds, and caught amongst them, creatures that were not usually seen in the shallower waters that surrounded her island, but that had been torn from their homes on the deep ocean floor to be flung to their demise on the land. Careful not to touch those creatures she did not recognise, Rey dropped her belongings, pulled out her precious belt knife, and began to dig in amongst the great piles, slicing long strands of seaweed, untangling them from around the pieces of tumbled wood they held onto. She was practiced at building her shelter from whatever she found, and it wasn’t long before she had a temporary lean-to constructed, and was working on building a fire in front of it.  


The bones of a spiny, deep water fish lay picked clean in the sand next to her as Rey found herself yawning mightily, the sun not even fully at its zenith for the day. The meat of the fish had been succulent and delicious, fresh enough after being tossed on the beach, which itself had noticeably changed shape once again after the storm. The fish itself was a rare treat, usually swimming at a depth which was far beyond where fishing line or her spear could reach. Feeling safe enough for the moment, Rey crawled into her shelter and curled up in a depression in the sand, as the haze of exhaustion that had been hovering at the edges finally caught up with her. Just as she drifted off, she saw him again. That was the downside of not sleeping for several days, as it meant she missed her opportunity to look at his face before drifting off. She could never see much of his surroundings, just impressions of sunshine or rain on his face, and whether his hair was blowing in the wind or not. He looked happy, to her minds eye, his hair salt encrusted and blown back from his face, eyes steady in some goal far ahead of him. She knew every freckle, every mole on that face - could have picked him from a crowd of thousands - yet she had no idea who he was, did not even know if he was real, or just a figment of her desperately lonely imagination.  


Today, she didn’t question it, just observed the joy on the mans’ long face, the way his amber eyes glowed in the sunlight that he seemed to be bathed in. As sleep fully took her, his face faded, leaving her alone with her own dreams.  
___________________________________________________________  


She came, in the time before waking fully turned into dreams. Every night, no matter what, she appeared. Her face often serious, sometimes sad, and very rarely, smiling. Tonight she slept, her face relaxed and crusted with salt and sand. He could see her clearly in his minds eye, every golden freckle outlined clearly, her dark lashes fanning over her cheeks, circles under her eyes. He wondered, in an abstracted way as sleep finally wrapped itself around his brain, if she was even on the same planet as him. It was a big galaxy. The motion of the ship pulled him deeper down into the ocean of sleep, and her face faded once more.

**Author's Note:**

> Please be kind, it’s many years since I’ve taken up my fanfic “pen”, and the first time for this fandom. I know nothing much happens here but I just wanted to take the plunge and actually get started! Hopefully our two space babies will get some meaningful together time at some point on this journey!


End file.
